Food for mood

A heated discussion with a group of accomplished female journalists on whether readers prefer women editors or simply hate them as being tougher than the toughest male chiefs took a weird turn last week.

The venue was the World Editor's Forum in Hyderabad, India. The subject for discussion did not go down very well with the mostly male crowd that had gathered to help solve the problems of the newspaper industry.

Most women too were incensed at the idea that nine years into the new millennium we were still discussing gender issues even though the world of media has come a long way in breaking barriers and just about levelling the playing field.

"They have also found ‘female Viagra,'" piped a lady editor who is the queen bee of her city. The remark was obviously made to show that in the race for equality with men, women have not been left far behind. However, that remark started another heated debate on female sexual health and how drug companies are keen to cash in by selling a "pink pill" to women after preying on their insecurities.

Over a banquet of Hyderabad's world famous biryani (we stuffed ourselves, it is really that good), the discussion turned to a female journalist called Venu Sandal who took up fortune-telling after gypsies in the tribal region of India predicted that she would do it herself and be in great demand.

Venu is very successful. She writes a daily and weekly column for tens of newspapers and even high-brow intellectuals who publicly dismiss mysticism and fortune-telling, read her in secret.

What makes her really interesting is her knack for connecting food to mood. Her advice is that condiments added to your food will light up your love life far better than any old pill.

"While in a courtship, adding a few drops of clove oil with pomegranate juice to your food will make you ardent. Orange juice on the other hand will ensure that you are always in good spirits, considerate, understanding and an ideal partner," she writes.

Her personalised love guide to 2010 says:

1. Eating broccoli with leeks, tomatoes and cheese will help you meet the person of your dreams

2. Green peas cooked with chick peas, mustard leaves, onions and coriander seeds will help you overcome your love difficulties

3. A baked avocado stuffed with green gourd, pumpkin, salt, coriander, cumin and white pepper will transport you to the alluring zone

4. A dish made with roasted potatoes, eggplant, fried onions and grated cheese, cooked in a little sunflower oil, will bring you unusual experiences.

Those with an interest in the "pink pill" should know that a drug known as flibanserin (an anti-depressant) turned out to have unexpected aphrodisiacal effects on women.

Venu Sandal and the German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim are going to cash in anyway.

The choice of course is all yours.